Why Does MDPI Impose Article Processing Charges (APCs) for Publishing in its Journals?

MDPI publishes all its journals in full open access format. The scientific community and the general public have, for free, unlimited and immediate access to all content published in our journals as soon as it is published on the Internet. This means that MDPI does not receive any income from selling subscriptions to print or view online versions of its journals or from charging "pay-per-view" fees. Therefore, MDPI needs to defray its editorial and production costs by collecting article processing charges (APCs) from authors' institutes or research funding bodies. MDPI is committed to keeping its open access publication charges at a minimum level. MDPI's current charges—if calculated per page—are much lower than the revenues per published page generated by traditional, subscription-based academic publishers.

How Much Does MDPI Charge to Publish in Its Journals?

The exact value of article processing charges (APCs) for each journal is given in the table below. The APC covers editorial services and production of an article. Publication in the first few issues of a new journal is usually free of charge.

* For journals with an APC below 800 CHF, a charge of 250 CHF will be applied to articles requiring extensive English language editing or formatting. To avoid surcharges, authors are recommended to carefully follow the instructions for authors and use the MS Word or LaTeX template files available on the instructions for authors page of the journal website. We encourage non-native English speaking authors to send their manuscripts to a professional English editing service prior to submission. If you use a service that provides a confirmation certificate, please send a copy to the Editorial Office. Authors from developing countries should consider registration with AuthorAid, a global research community that provides networking, mentoring, resources and training for researchers in developing countries.

Funding of Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Many funding agencies explicitly allow the use of research grants for the payment of Article Processing Charges (APCs) for publishing in open access journals. In addition, numerous institutes have created central funds to cover APCs. Please see the following page for details on funding of APCs. Additionally, MDPI has established an institutional membership program. The institutional membership provides discounts on the APCs for articles published with MDPI by the corresponding or leading authors of the associated institute. The membership also allows institutes to choose payment of the APCs centrally, thereby removing part or all of the fees for individual authors. If your institute is not yet listed, you may recommend the membership scheme with MDPI to your library here. We will reach out to your library to discuss the possibility of a membership.

Bank, Credit Card and other Fees

For wire transfers, we ask the customer to pay the fees for both the sender and the recipient bank, so that MDPI can receive the full invoiced amount. If you wish to pay by check, please add 12 CHF check fees.

Does MDPI Offer Any Discounts or Waivers of the Article Processing Charges (APCs)?

MDPI established an institutional membership scheme which grants authors of member institutes significant discounts on the regular Article Processing Charges (APC). In many cases, MDPI also offers discounts to previous reviewers of the journals.

Furthermore, MDPI publishes selected articles invited by the Editorial Office for free. Waivers may be granted at the Publisher's discretion and on the request of authors. The editorial decision making is decoupled from the authors' ability to pay the Article Processing Charges in case their paper is accepted for publication.

Do I Have to Pay if My Manuscript is Rejected?

No. MDPI only sends the invoice for article processing charges (APCs) if a manuscript has been accepted for publication. The acceptance of a manuscript is based on the outcome of the peer-review procedure. The final decision as to whether a manuscript will be accepted for publication or rejected is made by an external editor (usually the Editor-in-Chief of a journal or the Guest Editor of a special issue) based on scientific merit.

Are Reprints of My Article Included In the Article Processing Charges (APCs)?

No. Article processing charges (APCs) do not entitle the authors to receive reprints of their published article. Reprints can be ordered separately and optionally for any article that has been published in an MDPI journal. To request an offer for reprints of an article, please visit the website of the article you would like to reprint and follow the “Order Reprint” link, or send an e-mail to publisher@mdpi.com.

Special Note Regarding Sales Tax and VAT for Authors from Switzerland

Value Added Tax (VAT, Switzerland) is not included in the article processing charges (APCs). Authors from Switzerland will have additional VAT charged in their bill. Authors from Switzerland are asked to pay directly to our main office in Basel, Switzerland and will be billed an additional 8% in VAT.